We live “right of the Rhine”, aka on the eastern side of the Rhine, at the place where the hills meet the plain. The plain stretches about 350km from northern Switzerland to about Frankfurt am Main. It’s about 50km wide. So when I look due west I can see several smaller towns, two cities (Mannheim and Ludwigshafen) until the hills of the Pfälzer Wald which border the plain on the western side.
Once upon a time there was this ridge of mountains from Basel to Frankfurt and then about 50 million years ago the middle part sank down and the ridge became a rift: the Upper Rhine Valley. On either side are mountain ranges, the higher altitude … Continue reading This part of Germany
The Upper Rhine Valley is up to 35 km wide, from East to West. The river Rhine used to meander leisurely in this plain from Basel in the South to above Mainz in the North. In the early part of the 19th century Johann Tulla started with straightening the Rhine making it possible for larger ships to transport goods up and down the river. The cut off “arms” became recreational areas, some for boating and swimming etc., some have become preserved areas for fauna and flora.
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